


The Cute Guy at the Gym

by PickledBeef



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Blood and Injury, First Meetings, Flirting, Frottage, Gym, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Meet-Cute, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Resolved Sexual Tension, Rutting, Sexual Tension, Shower Sex, but it's fairly mild
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:07:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29563050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PickledBeef/pseuds/PickledBeef
Summary: Klaus Hargreeves is a master of scheming free stuff. He's got a system worked out jumping from trial membership to trial membership at every gym in the city for access to showers and never has to spend a dime.However, a cute guy at the expensive gym down the street might just change things for him.
Relationships: Klaus Hargreeves/David "Dave" Katz
Comments: 43
Kudos: 56
Collections: EnKlave Fest 2021





	1. First Contact

Klaus was nothing if not resourceful. While most people worked tirelessly for their paychecks in order to barely scrape by affording their apartments and their cars and their takeout, Klaus had a system. As long as you were willing to sacrifice just the tiniest bit of comfort and convenience, you could go pretty far and a pretty minimal budget.

Need a place to sleep at night? Easy—He could sneak back into the academy, after Luther’s strict 9:30 PM bedtime, between Pogo’s wandering patrols of the academy, and before Grace retired to her spot in the so-called gallery at the top of the stairs. As long as he timed it right, he could sleep in his childhood bed whenever he wanted without anyone even noticing. If he couldn’t time it, he knew what places around town were best for sleeping. There were a handful of covered doorways and park enclaves that faced away from the rising sun and didn’t see any traffic until at least noon, allowing him to no only be sheltered from the wind, but sleep in too. Score. 

Laundry? Easy—Laundromats were an easy target. Slip a few extra pieces of his things in the wash with a senile old lady’s things and make up an excuse to look for something he’d perhaps lost during the load before while she was folding. That, or when he needed something new to wear, he could be discreet enough to snag a few pieces from dryers that were nearing their buzzers. 

Food? Food was everywhere, if you kept your eyes open for it. Intercepting half-eaten meals before they hit trash cans, getting hot food from college cafeterias by sneaking the lunch maidens a wink and maybe a flash of tongue while he licked something off his plastic fork, getting in line at local soup kitchens—there was food everywhere if you looked for it and were willing to be patient. 

Hygiene? Well, that’s where Klaus found himself on this particular Tuesday morning. There were countless gyms in the city and where there were gyms, there were free-trial memberships that would allow him a week or sometimes a whole month of unlimited gym access to see if it was the right ‘fit’ for him. If he hit each one once and used up his memberships for as long as he could wring them before moving on, and waited a sufficient amount of time before circling back around with a new fake name, he could have access to hot showers indefinitely. After the night he’d had, he needed one. 

He entered Eclipse Fitness (what a pretentious name—then again, all the gyms with the best showers had stupid names like that) stumbling over a raised edge of the entry mat. Whoops. He thought he was hungover, but he was beginning to realize that he might just still be a little bit drunk. Oh well, not like it was anyone else’s business. He approached the front desk and gave a salacious grin to the woman working behind the counter. 

“Hi there,” he breathed, fishing in the front pocket of his skin-tight leather pants for his temporary gym pass while shooting a wink to the receptionist.

The woman behind the counter tucked a strand of mousy brown hair behind her ear and looked at him suspiciously. She allowed a long beat to pass before she actually opened her mouth to speak, but right as she did, Klaus managed to get his pass freed and held it in front of her face. 

“Ah! Here we are, valid for another 4 days,” He pointed out, blowing her a kiss as he walked past the counter, already tucking the pass back in his pocket. 

He half expected some form of protest from her, but it never came. Thank God for small miracles. 

The way Eclipse Fitness was set up required people to pass through the gym itself in order to get to the locker room, which was not an issue for Klaus in the slightest. Sure, his outfit didn’t exactly scream ‘I’m here to work-out’ so he got some odd looks, but it wasn’t anything he wasn’t used to. Plus, it meant he got to scope out some strong arms and toned abs and perky butts along the way—no complaints from him! 

Klaus turned the corner into the gym, a large rectangular room with a wall of mirrors on one side, a series of smaller studios for classes on the other, and a modest but expensive-looking collection of work-out equipment and machines in the center. He took his time strolling along the far side of the gym to see who was exercising. He passed a few people that were attractive in their own sorts of ways, but didn’t exactly ring any of Klaus’s bells. There was a thin blonde woman on the treadmill beside a tired looking middle-aged man who seemed to be trying to work off a beer gut he’d spent many years accumulating. There was a trio of young frat boy types gathered around some weights, jostling each other, to which Klaus just rolled his eyes—he’d learned his lesson not to fuck with those kinds of guys a long time ago. He passed a man who was so strong and thick that he appeared to have muscles on top of his muscles, which Klaus wasn’t really into. 

He turned the corner toward the showers blindly, eyes still scanning the gym itself when he ran into a wall with an indignant squawk. Huh. He didn’t remember a wall being here. 

“Sorry! Oh God, I’m sorry, are you alright?” The wall asked. 

Klaus looked at what he’d run into and saw that it was very much not a wall and instead, was very much a man. A man with adorably curly hair and such impossibly blue eyes and they were looking right at him. 

“Huh?” Klaus asked distractedly, blinking quickly and shaking his head, “Oh! Nah, my fault, silly me.” 

Klaus let his eyes wander, taking in the strong cut of the man’s jaw, his square chin, the broad shoulders dusted with freckles beneath the tank top that he wore. He raised an eyebrow as he took in the man’s sculpted arms, which were still holding Klaus by the biceps. 

“You know,” Klaus started, drawing his eyes back up to meet the gaze of this beautiful man, “You welcome to lift me if you get tired of the weights.” 

Klaus added a wink for good measure, which had those blue eyes getting wider and, to Klaus’s dismay, the hands falling from his arms. Klaus’s shoulders fell a little bit and he pouted. 

“Aww, I was just teasing, handsome, no need to look so scandalized,” Klaus said playfully as he lifted a finger to boop softly against the handsome man’s nose.

He knew he was probably pushing it—this guy was looking more than a little thrown by Klaus. Still, booping a stranger on the nose right after flirting with them was probably not considered typical gym behavior and if Klaus wanted to continue to use the luxurious showers here for the few days he had left on his pass, he probably shouldn’t be going about pissing people off.

He gave the man one last smirk before stepping around him to go into the locker room and that was that. 

Except that it wasn’t. Klaus couldn’t get the man’s face out of his head. He’d been cute—really cute—but Klaus had seen many a cute boy in his time, they didn’t usually stick in his mind so tenaciously. He took his time in the shower, enjoying the sting of the hot water for as long as he could stand it. It wasn’t always so luxurious so he did his best to enjoy it while he had the opportunity. He needed to make some sort of mental note about this place—it was the best shower he’d gotten in years and he was going to miss it once his free trial expired. 

When he was thoroughly clean and his skin was splattered pink from the sting of water as hot as he could stand it, he dried himself off and tucked the towel around his waist, using another towel to work on drying his hair as he stepped out and walked through the locker room. He wasn’t really looking where he was going, vision obscured by the towel he was rubbing over his head when he bumped into someone. 

“Whoops! Sorry, wasn’t looking where I was—“ Klaus began to say, pulling the towel off his head to see who he’d just ran into, but the words died on his tongue when he saw the same man he’d bumped into before. 

Klaus grinned. The man was blushing—definitely blushing, right? It could have been leftover redness from his workout, but it looked suspiciously like blushing. Plus, they guy’s eyes were roaming Klaus’s torso before snapping up to his face. 

“Well, aren’t you just magnetic? Can’t seem to stop bumping into you,” He said, knowing it was cheesy—definitely not his smoothest line ever, “I’m Klaus.”

The man licked his lips briefly before answering, drawing Klaus’s attention. “Uh, I’m Dave,” he said, shaking his head like he was trying to realign his thoughts back to the present moment—oh, where had he been then?

Klaus smirked, drawing his gaze back up to the man’s eyes—they were so strikingly blue. He could look all day—swoon. God, this man was beautiful. All strong muscles and good posture and sweet curls that spilled against his forehead. 

“Nice to meet you Dave,” Klaus said, trying to wrangle himself in a little bit more—he could be plain-old polite if he needed to be. 

The man’s expression seemed to soften, settle a little bit as he pulled the towel off his shoulder, giving Klaus a quick smile—small but genuine, and it actually made Klaus’s heart flutter. Oh fuck. Klaus didn’t get crushes—not on people he didn’t even know, certainly not on soft, kind looking dorks like this! Klaus was just tired—that was it. Tired and too high, or maybe not high enough. Either way, he would chalk it up to some combination of sleep and drugs. Maybe he was just lonely. He made a mental note to go club prowling tonight, he clearly had things he needed to get out of his system. 

“Well, it was nice to meet you,” Dave said, giving Klaus another one of those sweet smiles before laying a hand on his shoulder, squeezing slightly as he stepped past him to get to the showers himself. 

Klaus turned his head to watch him walk away, not exactly shy about checking the guy out. The way his strong but trimmed waist cut into hips that Klaus wanted to put his hands on made Klaus bite his lip. His perfect, perky ass wasn’t exactly hard on the eyes either. Even his legs were perfect. God, Klaus really needed to get laid. 

Klaus saw Dave one more time as he was dressed, bent over the sink to get closer to the mirror to run a quick swipe of eyeliner to his lashes. Dave’s shower had been quicker than Klaus’s—a man of efficiency, Klaus could appreciate that—and walked by behind Klaus. They locked eyes in the mirror and Klaus smiled a little and so did Dave. Klaus let his eyes slip down Dave’s bare chest, and oh God, he had abs—actual abs and those pretty, perfect little v-shaped dips just above the towel and when he snapped his eyes back up to Dave’s in the mirror, Dave was a half-second behind, clearly having been looking at Klaus’s ass. Yes! Klaus grinned at having caught Dave, shooting him a wink that made Dave look away shyly. Oh god, he was cute too. Unfair. 

After leaving the gym, Klaus did exactly as he’d intended—after getting his fix for the evening, he headed out to the clubs, accepting a few free drinks here and there, but nobody really caught his eye—not the way Dave had caught his eye. Huh. Klaus had thought he was just horny and needed to get it out of his system. He wasn’t normally this picky. 

Eventually, as it neared closing time, Klaus sucked it up and let an objectively attractive guy take him home. He hadn’t been able to focus though, thoughts drifting to dark blonde curls and strong features and blue eyes. What the Hell was going on with him?


	2. Whoops

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus does something ridiculous, an injury occurs, and Dave is there to make it better.

The next day, Klaus’s very first thought was how much he wanted a shower and not just because he was thinking of Dave, which he sort of was. He could probably talk the guy who was still asleep next to him into letting him shower there, but that would require Klaus to talk to him, maybe even have an awkward cup of coffee with him and eww. He got out of bed as quietly as he could and dressed quickly. He made it to the door of the guy’s bedroom before he was struck by an idea and before he could talk himself out of it, he turned and went to the guy’s dresser. 

Maybe it was stupid, and Klaus would probably change his mind about it, but it didn’t hurt to be prepared, right? He opened the drawers carefully, one by one until he found the jackpot—a plethora of various gym clothes. He’d figured the guy looked a bit like a gym rat, and thankfully, he seemed to have good taste. Klaus plucked a pair of short red shorts from the drawer along with a tank top, shoving the clothes under his arm before heading toward the door again, pausing once more to take a quick detour to the closet, glancing at the shoes. He had at least 15 pairs of tennis shoes, he clearly wouldn’t miss one missing pair. Klaus grabbed a pair and then high-tailed it out of there. 

This was stupid, wasn’t it? Klaus opened the canvas tote he’d snagged from an overpriced grocery store a few weeks ago and glanced inside. Klaus did not exercise. What the Hell was he doing? He looked up at the front doors of the gym, just a few steps away before shaking his head, shoving the bag up onto his shoulder roughly as he scurried away from the building, but was stopped in his tracks when he noticed the entire reason he was being irrational getting out of his truck. Fucking Dave. 

He watched him cross the parking lot to the front doors of the gym and disappear inside, definitely NOT while hiding behind a car. Oh God, he was pathetic. So fucking pathetic.

He warred with himself for another few minutes before he finally reached ‘fuck it’ and marched inside. 

He flashed his pass, went into the locker room, hoping to run into Dave again so he could abandon this stupid plan and get his Dave fix on his way to the shower instead, but luck was not on his side. He cursed to himself and clasped a hand over his face to just mourn his sanity and his pride before shedding the fluffy coat and tight pants and mesh shirt to change into a short pair of gym shorts that fit him surprisingly well and a loose tank top. He sat down to shove his feet into the shoes he’d snagged, finding that those didn’t fit quite as well, a touch on the big side, leaving his feet with a little room to move within them, but he didn’t much care. He glanced at himself in the mirror before leaving the locker room, feeling ridiculous because he didn’t look like himself. He wouldn’t normally be caught dead in gym clothes, what was he doing?! 

He took a breath and looked himself over. At least his legs looked nice all exposed like this, long and taut. He glanced over his shoulder to verify that his ass at least looked cute—it did. He could get though anything as long as his ass looked cute. He took a breath. He was already this far. Fuck it. 

He came out of the locker room feeling oddly naked for a guy that regularly wore skirts, mesh shirts, crop tops, and liked to go around bare foot. He glanced around the gym, eventually spotting Dave at the weights. He wasn’t about to embarrass himself by showing off how spectacularly out of shape he was by trying to lift anything, but he figured he could do with some brisk walking or even jogging on the treadmill. That wasn’t that hard, right? He picked out a treadmill with a good view of Dave and with a few tries, managed to get the belt moving, only stumbling once before he reached a brisk walking speed. 

He was so painfully aware of how stupid this was. He was actually exercising just so he could stare at Dave. This was madness. Why was he even bothering? His gym pass only had two more uses on it after today and at that point, he’d never have a good reason to bump into Dave again. It was probably best that he didn’t start developing some odd, misplaced crush right now. Then again, Klaus had never been the type to do the smart thing. He tended to do the impulsive thing, and right now his impulse was to watch Dave doing squats. 

It had been just 10 minutes of Klaus walking and he was already feeling a little tired. Granted, he was walking a bit faster than he normally would, feeling like some ridiculous power walker that he sometimes saw out on the streets at 7 in the morning, those damn overachievers. Just the thought made him feel bitter and he wasn’t even sure why. If those middle-aged moms could power walk for an hour straight, and if Dave could lift such heavy looking weights and make it look easy, the least Klaus could do was at least run. He wasn’t quite that pitiful. 

He pressed the button to turn up the speed on the treadmill until he had to pick up his pace into more of a trot, only one foot touching down at a time. It only took thirty seconds at the new pace to make him feel winded. He grit his teeth and focused his sights straight ahead, attempting to keep his attention on Dave instead of the ache that was beginning to build in his side. 

He let his eyes roam, taking in Dave’s glistening skin along his forehead and arms. He watched as he moved on to some other exercise contraption that Klaus would have sworn was a torture machine. Dave sat down, tucking his knees up to his chest and Klaus tilted his head in confusion as he watched. Dave rested his feet against some sort of suspended platform, unhooked some lever on the side of the machine, and then it all started to make sense. He vaguely remembered those being called leg presses from some of his early days in the academy when Reginald had them working out every morning before the sun came up, but the machines looked different back then. Still, the work-out itself looked similar enough. 

He watched Dave move smoothly and with a steady rhythm, curling up before driving the platform up with tense, slightly quivering thighs. He watched as he shorts worked their way up his thighs, revealing the stripe where Dave’s tanned calves faded to vulnerable pale skin about a third of the way up his thighs. He swallowed thickly as he watched the muscles tense and relax, driving the weights up with ease. 

Klaus saw those legs tense and lose their rhythm, faltering in their rhythm. Dave locked his legs out and Klaus darted his gaze up to look at his face in confusion, wondering what had thrown him off. Oh. Oh God, Dave was looking right at him, looking just as surprised as Klaus was. And then Klaus’s world turned quite literally upside down. 

He wasn’t even sure what happened at first—the gliding sensation under his feet suddenly fell out of rhythm and instead of skimming across the surface of the belt step after step, Klaus was being dragged by it. The next thing he comprehended was a swooping sensation, that jolt of falling, and then the solid thunk of the floor against his head. Shit. Shit, shit, shit, he’d just fallen quite spectacularly off the treadmill not only in front of Dave, but while Dave was actually looking at him. 

He brought both arms to up to cross them over his face, wanting so badly to just melt through the floor and disappear. Embarrassment hit him quicker than the pain did—maybe the panic of trying to think of any possible way of recovering from a stumble like that had staved it off for a few extra seconds. Now though, Klaus had no idea how to play this off without looking like an idiot AND he was in pain.

He hissed and opened his eyes, sure his face was burning red, but at this point his pride was so irrevocably crumbled that he couldn’t bring himself to care. He pulled his arms away from his face and was nearly face to face with Dave. 

“Christ on a cracker!” He exclaimed, flinching with his whole body at the surprise of opening his eyes to a face instead of the ceiling. 

“Sorry! Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I saw what happened, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Klaus right?” Dave said, wincing sheepishly. 

Klaus groaned and covered his face with his hands, “My leg hurts, but not nearly as much as my self-esteem right now,” he deadpanned. 

At least that made Dave laugh. He felt Dave’s hands on his shoulders, gently helping him to sit up. Klaus looked down at his leg and saw a scrape up a large part of shin, likely shaved away by that dastardly belt. He grimaced at the sight of the fresh blood beading to the surface, so vividly red it was nearly pink. 

“Ouch,” Klaus said lamely, voice a little high and whiny, but it hurt, okay? He pressed his hands down tight to the unmarred skin above the scrape, hoping that it might help, as futile as it was. 

He heard Dave suck air in through his teeth as he examined it, coming around to Klaus’s side. Klaus looked at Dave’s face while Dave looked at his leg. Pretty. Pretty, pretty, pretty. 

“Wait here, I’ll go get a towel for that,” Dave said, glancing at his face with an adorable crease between his brows. He actually looked worried and it made Klaus’s heart skip a beat. 

Maybe his dramatic fall wasn’t so bad if it meant he could get attention like this. He would gladly take a scrape any day if it meant Dave looking at him like he was worried about it, like he actually cared about Klaus’s wellbeing. He’d had much worse than scrapes and bruises, though he was still grieving his poor damaged ego. Gone was the mysterious, cool, flirty Klaus. Now he was a dork. A bigger dork than even Dave actually—like, the biggest dork in the world. Not only had he fallen in an acrobatically chaotic jumble, he’d also done so because he was exercising while staring at Dave, and he was only exercising in the first place so he could look at Dave, and he was wearing stupid work-out clothes that he had stolen that made him feel ridiculous just so he could exercise and look at Dave. How embarrassing. 

Dave returned before Klaus could spiral too wildly, dipping down to his knees beside him in a smooth motion. It shouldn’t have been hot, but it was. He pressed a damp, folded-up towel gingerly against Klaus’s shin and Klaus sucked in a breath, face twisting in pain. He flinched away from the touch at first, but caught himself and let Dave put some pressure on the scrape. 

“Shit, shit, shit, that really fucking stings.” Klaus grimaced, working to steady himself. He needed to regain himself a little bit, try to salvage this interaction before Dave realized how hopeless he was. 

“Let me help you get it wrapped. Do you think you can walk?” Dave asked, looking from his leg up to Klaus’s face. 

Klaus nodded, bracing his palms on the floor as he lifted his bottom and got his good leg under him. Dave offered a hand and Klaus took it, levering himself up to his feet. The movement meant Dave couldn’t hold the towel against Klaus’s leg anymore, but thankfully the blood wasn’t dripping, so he figured he could make it to the locker room without it for now. To Klaus’s surprise, Dave kept his grip on Klaus’s hand, pulling his arm over his shoulder so Dave could take some of his weight while Klaus hobbled beside him. He was so warm to the touch, hot even, and though he was damp and sweaty and by all means should be gross, it absolutely wasn’t gross. Klaus sort of loved it. 

“You know, you don’t have to go throwing yourself off treadmills to get my attention,” Dave said after a few beats of silence. 

Was that...flirting? Klaus turn his head to look at Dave with wide eyes, mouth falling open with an indignant squawk. He spluttered, feeling entirely flustered. Dave! Was flirting! With him! 

“You—I—ugh. You’re cute but you’re not THAT cute, Dave.” Klaus eventually managed to get out, “Well, okay, you are that cute. But I swear I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Dave just laughed, loud and genuine, letting his head fall back a little against Klaus’s arm and the sound wiggled it’s way into Klaus’s chest and coiled around his heart and squeezed. Oh god, oh god. He was beautiful. Klaus was screwed. 

“I know you didn’t, dork. I was surprised to see you on the treadmill though—never actually seen you work-out here,” Dave pointed out. 

What did that even mean? Had Dave noticed Klaus coming here just to use the shower more than once? Was he onto Klaus's silly little scheme to work-out just for the sake of looking at Dave? He took a breath. Even if he had, Klaus could play it off, right? He was normally good at stuff like this. 

"Maybe I just usually work-out in the morning," Klaus said primly, defensively. 

Dave snorted beside him, "It is morning, I'm sure you're not usually here." 

Shit. Klaus huffed, "I meant evening. I usually exercise in the evening." 

Dave just laughed, "You're getting awfully defensive, you know," he pointed out, "besides, I saw you yesterday, you just came in to shower, you didn't even hit the gym."

Klaus groaned. How the Hell had he developed a crush on a man who said things like 'hit the gym'? Not only had he developed a crush on this handsome nerd, but he'd gone out of his way to do something ridiculously out of character just to stalk him like a loser. And on top of that, he'd gotten caught! He was seriously off his game—off his rocker too, maybe. To make matters worse, Dave was actually the one making Klaus flustered instead of the other way around! Yesterday, Dave had been so easily ruffled, turning pink at the first wink Klaus shot his way and today Klaus felt like he might melt entirely. He needed to get the upper hand back. 

"Oh, so now you know my whole schedule? Are you stalking me, Dave?" Klaus asked, grinning as he did. 

Luckily, it seemed to make Dave laugh too, though he at least had the good sense to look a little embarrassed. He ducked his head as he helped Klaus sit on one of the long benches, shaking his head. 

"You wish, Klaus," He retorted, but it was a lame comeback, so Klaus just gave him a lazy, victorious smile. 

He moved to lean back, scoot back on the bench a little but he'd overestimated how much bench was left behind him and when he felt his bottom slip over the edge, his hand shot out to catch himself, ending up on Dave's arm. Dave was thankfully quick, snatching both of Klaus's arms to keep him from crumpling into the space between the bench and the lockers. He pulled Klaus back up to be seated while laughing, the sound open and sparkly and pretty and Klaus actually blushed. 

"Either you're doing that on purpose or you're the clumsiest person I've ever met," Dave said, between breaths. 

Klaus didn't even really mind being laughed at. It was sort of funny, he could admit that, but it was seriously bruising his ego. He wasn't sure how many more hits it could take—first the stupid clothes and the plan to exercise, then falling off the treadmill, then letting Dave get him flustered, now nearly falling onto his ass with Dave laughing at him. He was feeling entirely uncool, like whatever appeal he'd somehow managed to muster throughout the years, knowing how to talk and move and bat his eyes to get what he wanted, had flown entirely out the window and he was an awkward teenager all over again. Except worse! Because even as a teenager, Klaus had his shit together better than THIS. 

Klaus huffed and sat forward instead, that was safer, "Maybe I am," he said, lifting his chin defiantly, "Maybe I have a damsel-in-distress kink. Come on, don't pretend you don't have some hero-complex deep down in there," he added, drifting his fingertips against the center of Dave's chest, feeling a rush of victory when Dave's breath stuttered audibly at the touch.

Klaus shot him a wink for good measure and Dave's face broke into a breathless smile before he shook his head and rolled his eyes fondly—fondly! Klaus watched as Dave reached past him to dial in a combination on the locker there. Were Dave's fingers especially nice looking? Were they especially deft in their movements or was Klaus just a little bit too into this guy? He popped the locker open and dug around for a moment before closing it with a small kit of some sort in his hands. It took a beat before Klaus recognized it as a first aid kit.

Dave sank down to one knee in front of Klaus and it was somehow the hottest thing Klaus had ever seen, coming down to his eye-level like that. It was Klaus's turn to feel a little breathless as Dave set the kit down and took Klaus's injured leg in his hand, fitting his palm against the delicate dip at the back of his ankle. He lifted his leg out straight and cupped the heel of his stolen shoe to slide it off his foot, setting it aside with a focused, attentive look on his face. God, he was pretty and since Dave was looking at Klaus's leg, it gave Klaus full permission to stare at him. 

He traced the strong planes of Dave's face and shoulders with his eyes while Dave opened the first aid kit and pulled a few items out of it. When he felt Dave's fingertips dip into the back of his sock to slide it off his foot as well, Klaus's stomach actually did a little flip. Oh God, he was pathetic. He looked at his foot, surprised to see it smeared with red. Oh. He'd been bleeding more than he'd realized. It'd soaked down into his sock and was dripping on the towel Dave had at some point dropped down beneath Klaus's leg to cover the tile. He was a little bit amazed at how gentle and careful Dave's strong hands were on him, cradling Klaus's heel now as if were made of glass, like he was tending to a damaged treasure instead of a clumsy drug-addict. 

"This'll sting," Dave warned, giving Klaus a quick glance before picking up a small bottle of peroxide, bracing it against his leg as he twisted off the cap and let it fall. 

Klaus rolled his eyes, "Please, I'm sure I've had w—" Klaus cut off with a hiss when Dave poured the peroxide over the scraped skin on his shin and when Klaus instinctively yanked his leg back, Dave's grip tightened on his heel, holding him in place. 

It would be hot if Klaus weren't blinking back tears from the sting of the peroxide. He'd had worse, definitely, and he'd had worse without shedding tears, but the sting was sharp and Klaus hadn't totally been properly braced for it, okay? 

"Ugh, you sadist," He grumbled, a whine escaping his throat as the solution began to foam up in the worst parts of the scrape. 

"You'll thank me when you avoid a Staph infection. Gym equipment is gross," Dave said, adjusting so his other knee was down too, sitting back on his heels to wait for the peroxide to do its job. 

Dave looked up at Klaus and his expression shifted, softened. It took Klaus a second to figure out why he suddenly had that pitying look on his face when he remembered that his eyes had been welling up. He swiped the heel of his hand quickly across each eye and then mushed at Dave's face to turn it away. 

"Don't look," he said, huffing a small, wet-sounding laugh, sniffling. 

Dave chuckled and turned his chin up, pointedly looking up at the ceiling to give Klaus his privacy, which was a bit exaggerated, but it gave Klaus a few moments to look at the column of Dave's throat, watch it bob as he swallowed, thoughts racing somewhere very impure for a few moments. Dave lowered his head, gave Klaus a little crooked smile before looking back at his foot, oblivious to the thoughts Klaus had just been having. 

Whatever Dave saw there in the peroxide must have been satisfactory, because he gently lowered Klaus's heel to the towel. "Don't move," he said, scooting back and rising in a smooth motion back to his feet. 

He went the get a few paper towels from the dispenser, getting a few of them wet, before returning. He sank down to his knees and it had Klaus's heart beating faster. Did Dave know he was this hot? Did he realize what he was doing to Klaus? Dave lifted Klaus's heel again, holding it with one hand while he used the wet paper towel to gently wipe away the blood from Klaus's shin below the actual scrapes, moving down his ankle and then to his foot. He was thorough and tender and took his time and Klaus was helpless to do anything but watch in awe. 

"Oh my God, you're so pitiful," Ben said, drawing Klaus's attention up from Dave to his brother who was standing over Dave's shoulder examining the wound too, "You're not exactly subtle, you know that? You're staring." 

Klaus made a face at him, a little flash of teeth, and a dismissive jut of his chin, trying to silently tell Ben to go away. The motion must have caught Dave's attention though, because he glanced up just then. Klaus quickly corrected, face switching into a guilty smile, but Dave's expression made it clear that whatever it was was odd. 

"You're umm—you're good at this," Klaus said, gesturing to his leg, hoping to distract from getting caught interacting with Ben, "Were you a boy scout?" 

Dave huffed a laugh, taking the bait, thankfully. "No, not a boy scout. Soldier, actually. I served two tours, we learn first aid in basic training," he explained, cleaning all around the wound but not the wound itself. 

Klaus's eyebrows shot up and he sat forward more, "Really? Woah. I wouldn't have pegged you for the military type," he said, fingertips impulsively touching Dave's curly hair, gently twirling a finger through one of the twists before catching himself and moving his hand back to brace against the bench sheepishly. 

The move had clearly gotten Dave's attention because he looked up at Klaus with a surprised expression, blue eyes wide and lips parting softly before he blinked and recovered. His eyes fell to Klaus's hand, the one that had been in his hair lingering there before Dave dropped his gaze back to the wound on Klaus's leg, setting his foot down against his thigh while he worked on getting some gauze opened. 

"Really?" Dave asked, "Yeah, I didn't really know what I wanted to do after high school, the military seemed like a good idea at the time," He said. 

Klaus's mind was still lingering on the look Dave had given him, the way he'd eyed Klaus's hand. Was it a suspicious look or an interested look? Klaus wasn't really sure, but he was nothing if not a little bold, so he moved his hand again, wondering what Dave would do if he repeated the gesture. He pushed a limp curl away from Dave's forehead with gentle fingers before pushing softly into his hair. Dave's fingers stumbled and he dropped the gauze he'd been working open with a small curse, but he didn't jerk his head away or bat at Klaus's hand or look up. In fact, he stayed very still, as if not wanting to dislodge the hand in his hair and oh, wasn't that interesting? 

Klaus continued to play with his hair, twisting some of the ringlets around his fingertip, gliding his fingers through the curls gently, tugging on some of the twists to watch them spring back slightly. It was all innocent, exploratory and gently playful and Dave didn't mention it or try to pull away. Klaus recognized how odd this was, Dave fixing up his leg while Klaus played with his hair even though they barely knew each other, but it didn't feel weird—it felt oddly natural, actually. 

"Well," Klaus said, having to clear his throat to remove the hoarseness from his voice, "I hope I don't offend you, but I think the military is bullshit," Klaus stated bluntly, though he brushed his fingertips along Dave's scalp above his ear, hoping it might soften the blow of his words. If Klaus didn't know better, he'd say Dave shivered a little. 

"I agree with you," Dave said, laying gauze over Klaus's wound, beginning to wind a bandage around his leg efficiently, "I just had to go through the wringer to see it for myself. Even earned myself a medal for getting shot."

Klaus's fingers stilled in his hair at that, coming abruptly to a halt behind Dave's ear, resting against the edge of his hairline. "Wait, what? Davey, you got shot?" Klaus asked with obvious shock and alarm in his voice. 

Dave looked up at him and chuckled at whatever expression was on Klaus's face, "Yeah, but I survived, obviously. I'm alright," he breezed, "hurt like Hell at the time, but hey, it got me out of there."

Klaus tried to picture it, but he wasn't sure why—it was morbid and it wasn't an image that needed to live in his mind, but it humanized Dave in a way—the thought that he'd at one point been laying in the dirt bleeding out, thinking he was going to die and now he was here wrapping up Klaus's leg—it made Klaus's heart twist in a way that felt oddly protective. Dave was strong, but not just in a muscular way—he'd been through Hell and back, he'd survived a war, a gunshot wound, military service, and still he was unbelievably kind and patient and gentle with Klaus despite all he'd gone through. Klaus had been through a lot in his time too, that was undeniable, but he'd come out the other side (well, he wasn't exactly out the other side yet, he was still somewhere in the middle) as a bitter, sarcastic, self-centered addict with major trust issues, likely some level of PTSD, and a few phobias to boot. How Dave could still be so sweet after going through so much was a mystery to him. 

"Where were you shot?" Klaus asked, resuming his movements, sweeping his fingertips through Dave's hair, gently smoothing curls he'd mussed up back into place.

"I was shot in the chest. It missed my heart by a fraction of an inch. It was a miracle I survived, actually," Dave answered, hands stilling were they held the bandage as he looked back up at Klaus. 

Klaus looked back with wide, earnest eyes, absorbed in Dave's explanation. Dave seemed a little thrown by the expression because he sat with his mouth parted like he was about to speak for a few beats too long, like he'd lost his words. Klaus, meanwhile, curled his fingertips behind Dave's ear, thumb brushing the shell of it as he waited patiently, holding Dave's gaze. Oh, that was definitely a blush—Dave's mouth clicked shut and his eyes flickered, lids drooping ever so slightly. Klaus resisted the urge to smirk or smile victoriously—Dave liked having his hair played with, obviously, but he also seemed to like the touch to his ear. Klaus filed that information away for later and waited for Dave to catch up. 

"Oh, uh," Dave said, blinking himself back to clarity, cheeks growing pinker. "I umm—When I finish your leg, I'll show you the scar, if you want." He offered, dropping his eyes back to his work. 

Klaus nodded emphatically, "Yeah, I'd like that. Take your shirt off for me, Davey," he said, voice a teasing purr that had Dave choking on his own spit, coughing as his face grew even redder. 

Klaus knew it made him a little shit, but God he liked riling Dave up. He was beautiful and innocent and kind and he looked so cute with red-tipped ears and a shy way of averting his gaze. It made Klaus feel powerful, but not in the way that flirting usually did—it felt less like reeling in a fish, less predatory and more like he was earning his way toward some sort of reward, like a kindergartener getting gold stars to earn an early recess or something, but in this case, the prizes were more glimpses of Dave's bashful smile and caught breaths. 

Dave flicked Klaus's leg in retaliation, but thankfully it didn't hurt more than a twinge through the bandage and gauze that was now secured in place. Klaus sucked air in through his teeth, but more in anticipation of pain that didn't come. When Dave put Klaus's foot down again, Klaus flashed a shiteating grin at him. Dave stood rolled his eyes so hard that he gave Ben a run for his money, though he had a hint of a smile tugging at one side of his lips and he was offering his hands to help Klaus stand again. 

Klaus took them and hoisted himself up off the bench, putting him almost chest to chest with Dave who clearly wasn't expecting Klaus to come in so close if the audible catch of air were anything to go by. Klaus winked and let his eyes wander down to the neckline of Dave's shirt. 

"Gonna show me, soldier?" Klaus asked, batting his eyelashes coquettishly for good measure. 

Dave huffed, the sound ever so slightly shaky and he released Klaus's hands and took a step back. He didn't go far though, just enough that he wasn't about to jab Klaus with an elbow while he lifted the hem of his shirt up under his chin, exposing delicious v-lines, a rippling set of abs, and a taut stretch of scar tissue near the center of his chest. Klaus's eyes followed the hem of Dave's shirt as it rose, appreciating his physique, stalling when he saw the scar from the bullet. 

"Woah," Klaus found himself saying, hand raising impulsively to brush over the skin, "Holy shit, that was close to your heart." 

Dave flinched a little when Klaus's fingertips brushed his skin and Klaus darted his gaze up to Dave's face and lifted his fingertips away, but Dave just gave him a little smile, "Sorry, your hands are cold. You can touch," he assured. 

Klaus huffed and scrunched his nose playfully for a brief moment before he looked back at the scar, tracing the outline of it with his fingertips. 

"I bet it was scary," he commented quietly, "I'm glad you didn't die."

Dave laughed at the blunt comment from Klaus, the sound bubbling out of him like he hadn’t been expecting it. The sound was beautiful and made Klaus’s stomach curl warmly, knowing he was the cause. He looked up to Dave’s face to catch sight of the smile that went with the sound, a mirrored grin on his own face as well. Klaus dropped his hand from Dave’s chest and Dave lowered his shirt again. There was a beat of tension, both of them still smiling at each other before Klaus was the one to actually chicken out. 

“Well, umm. Thanks for patching me up, doc. How can I repay you?" Klaus asked with a purr in his voice as he took a small step back, nearly stumbling back over the bench. 

Once again, Dave's hands caught Klaus's wrists and pulled him back up to center with the best laugh Klaus had heard out of him yet. Klaus had never felt so uncool around somebody before, especially not a nerdy gym-dork like Dave, but here he was stumbling over his own two feet and blushing like a teenager. 

"You're really making a habit of this, huh?" Dave asked, still chuckling.

Klaus rolled his eyes and gave Dave a light retaliatory shove, though his lips quirked at the corners—he couldn't help it.

"Yeah, yeah, my hero," Klaus deadpanned, brushing himself off and straightening his clothes, "Go get back to your work-out, I'm gonna shower and go lick my wounds elsewhere," He said.

"Alright, alright. You take care of yourself, alright? I'll see you around," Dave said patting Klaus goodnaturedly on the shoulder before turning to go, and that was that.

Klaus let out a long breath, letting all of the tension that'd wound in him during his encounter with Dave bleed out with it. 

"Christ, I need a drink," He breathed, to which Ben rolled his eyes but didn't say anything.

Maybe Ben was in silent agreement that he deserved a drink after what had just transpired or maybe he figured Klaus was just so hopelessly beyond trying to save that it wasn't worth trying anymore. He thought he knew which one it was though, and the idea wasn't comforting. Still, he'd take the lack of complaint as a small blessing.


	3. You're Good at This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus sees Dave again and bold moves ensue.

The next day, Klaus was back again, but to his dismay, Dave wasn't there. It was the most disappointing shower of Klaus's life, despite the endless hot water and fantastic water pressure. 

He was left with just one day left on his temporary pass before he'd have to move on and find another gym, possibly never seeing Dave again. That left just one day for him to make his move, for him to find a way to see Dave outside of the gym. God, he didn't even know if this guy was gay—he was a gym rat who'd served in the army—he knew his odds were low. Still, he couldn't deny a certain attraction to the man that went beyond just wanting a one-night fling. Even if they could only be friends of some sort—casual acquaintances that bumped into each other from time to time—Klaus didn't care what exactly, but he just knew he didn't want to let him go just yet. 

Klaus needed to time this right. 

Klaus got to gym nice and early the next day—well, early for Klaus. He'd caught Dave in the evening once and in the morning once, so it was clear that he didn't seem to have a very regular schedule for going to the gym. Hell, Klaus didn't even know if he came every day. He was potentially in for a long day of dragging out a work-out as an excuse to wait around for Dave or potentially in for a day of disappointment. 

He went inside and took his time doing everything—chatting with the receptionist as long as he could hold her attention (not long), changing (he actually folded his clothes, just to eat up a few more minutes), ensuring his shoes were properly laced, properly tightened. He'd managed to throw away a good twenty minutes before he had nothing left to keep him from the gym floor. He went out to the mats and stretched every muscle he could think of for as long as he could stand it twice, then got on the treadmill and set the speed at a walk, eyes scanning the gym every few minutes for a familiar face. The minutes ticked by and the miles ticked up on the treadmill and by the time two hours had passed, Klaus had walked over six miles and his legs and hips and back were aching. He'd lost hope already, but he still stretched on the mats again for as long as he could stand it before taking his time in the shower, doing his eyeliner slowly and meticulously, and dressing as slowly as he could manage. 

Eventually, he was out of ways to waste time and that was that. He left the gym sore, exhausted, and disappointed. That night had been a rough one. 

Eventually the sun rose without Klaus having slept and he found himself wandering around the city. His high was wearing off and he was sore from the waist down, but he'd at least managed to get himself a little money by using Ben to help him cheat at poker at a grimy joint downtown. He figured he'd get himself a decent breakfast, maybe buy himself something new to wear, but most of it he'd be saving for his next fix.   
He hadn't really been paying attention to where he was walking exactly, mostly just letting his feet carry him along until he looked up and saw what he thought had to be a hallucination at first. After staking out Dave for two days, waiting around as long as he could, it was just his luck that Dave would magically show up in his life again just as his pass expired. He stopped walking suddenly, watching Dave enter the gym. He had a terrible idea. 

Klaus didn't need a gym membership—not when he had such a good system for scheming his way into free showers. He especially didn't need a membership to such a bougie, expensive gym. It was a stupid, impulsive thought, but once it was planted, it was there and Klaus couldn't ignore it—not when it meant seeing more of Dave and well, Klaus had always been the impulsive sort. 

He set out walking again, a more determined pace whisking him toward the gym entrance. Ben trailed, but didn't complain. With how often he nagged Klaus to get clean, to be healthy, blah blah blah, he wasn't allowed to say shit about Klaus joining a gym, no matter how financially irresponsible it was.   
He went inside, hoping to catch Dave in the locker room, but when he put money on the counter, he was met with a stack of forms and releases instead of a gym pass. He sighed and sat down, diligently filling out the paperwork with his knee bouncing and his nails between his teeth. He was really beginning to feel the comedown.   
It took longer than it probably should have, but eventually, his forms were filled out and he traded them in for a membership card. The woman working reception seemed wary about the whole situation, but Klaus was blessed with a certain charisma and charm when he wanted it, so before too long, he was on his way back to the locker room. However, it was only once he was there that he realized that he'd lost his gym clothes somewhere between last night and this morning. He'd been lucky to still have his ID on him. Shit. That threw a wrench in his plans. 

He walked a loop around the locker room, doing a double-take when he spotted the lost and found box. Bingo! He dug through it, frowning at his options, but eventually he was able to fish out a pair of shorts that didn't look or smell too horrendous and a pair of shoes that looked to be a size too small, but he'd make them work—he might avoid running today though. Instead, he'd just focus on a really good stretching session, groaning at even the thought. His hips and hamstrings felt tight, like a bow that would twang with the slightest misstep.

He decided to forego the shoes and stretch in socks instead. That was acceptable, right? He changed quickly and went out to the gym floor, eyes scanning the room until he spotted Dave, who spotted him right back. Dave flashed that pretty smile and Klaus grinned, waving as he headed over to the mats. He sat down stiffly, letting out a small 'oomph' as he did. Even just sitting down felt nice. 

He was hyper-aware of where Dave was despite him not being directly in Klaus's line of sight. He did his best to keep his eyes down, not wanting to end up staring, but he glanced up every now and then to keep track of where he was, what machine he was using, getting a quick eyeful to hold him over until his next glance. He'd repeated this little cycle a few times while he stretched gently, starting with his neck and shoulders, working his way slowly down his body, figuring he'd save his sore legs for last. The next time he looked up, Dave wasn't where Klaus's gaze had last left him, but was instead approaching the edge of the mat. Klaus sat up straighter and tilted his head with a smile.   
"Hi stranger. Done already?" He asked brightly, eyes tracing down Dave's neck and shoulders, taking in the sheen of sweat on him.   
"Yeah, been at it for an hour. Time to stretch," Dave replied, either not noticing or politely ignoring the way Klaus's gaze lingered on his chest and arms as he sat directly across from him.  
Klaus frowned. "It's been an hour already? God, those forms took longer than I thought." 

"What forms?" Dave asked as he bent forward to grab his own feet, pulling gently to stretch his hamstrings. 

"Oh. The membership paperwork. There was mountain of it."

"Membership paperwork? I thought you were already a member."

"No, not exactly. I was on a trial pass. I just got an actual membership today." Klaus answered, copying Dave's stretch with a groan, "Fuck, I'm sore." 

Dave turned his head and looked at Klaus with a frown, "Here, wanna stretch with me?"

Dave moved, turning himself to face Klaus more, holding his hands out. Klaus watched with confusion written clear as day on his face, but he wasn't going to turn down an opportunity to touch Dave, so he placed his hands in Dave's larger, more calloused hands. Dave laughed a little, seeing Klaus's obvious hesitation.   
"Spread you legs," Dave said simply.   
Klaus's gaze shot back to Dave's face and though Klaus wasn't usually one for blushing, the very sudden and forward remark had blood rushing unexpectedly up to his face before he could catch himself and play it off cool.   
"Dave! Ask a guy to dinner first, sheesh," He teased, winking as he did as he was asked. 

Dave carefully placed his foot against each of Klaus's calves and gently pulled on his hands, deepening the stretch. Klaus hissed, but it quickly turned into a moan of relief. He closed his eyes, face screwed up as he tried to relax his muscles, letting the stretch echo deep in his hips.   
"Oh God, that's good. Hurts so good," He whimpered, laughing a little at how ridiculous he felt. Dave laughed a little too, pulling Klaus a little deeper into the stretch.

"Where are you the most sore?" He asked.   
Klaus considered the question for a moment, "Hmm, my hamstrings, I think. I walked more than usual yesterday and last night. Why, you got a fancy stretch for that one too?" 

"I do, in fact," Dave said with a smile, "Lay on your back."

Klaus let go of Dave's hands and laid back, arms and legs flat, watching as Dave got to his knees and came closer, right up beside Klaus's legs. From there, he touched Klaus's ankle, lifting it up until Dave could get his chest behind his calf. Klaus's mind figured out pretty quickly where this was going and his heart kicked up into a sprint in his chest. Surely he wasn't going to do THE stretch, was he? That was something out of pornos and bad movies and fantasies. It wasn't something people actually did, was it? Come to think of it, Klaus couldn't really say. He clacked his jaw shut as Dave bent forward, pressing Klaus's leg up over his head until Klaus tensed, sucking in a sharp breath. His hand flew thoughtlessly to Dave's bicep for something to hold and Dave, the sadist, just grinned. 

"How's that?" He asked innocently, like he didn't even know what this position looked like, what it was making Klaus think of.   
So much thinking. He tried his best not to picture Dave shirtless, pantsless, maybe entirely naked, maybe them both entirely naked—Oh God, he needed to get himself under control and quick.   
"You're evil," Klaus grumbled, digging his fingertips into Dave's arm just for good measure.   
"You'll thank me later," Dave assured him.   
Christ, Klaus really needed to get himself under control. He tried to focus on the pain and discomfort of the stretch, but that didn't really help—pain wasn't usually a deterrent for Klaus's sexual appetite, in fact, usually it was the opposite. Having Dave press him back until he was sore and pinned was a dream come true. He closed his eyes and let out a long, slow breath, trying to center himself a little bit. Dave showed him mercy and leaned back, lowering Klaus's leg back to the ground. It was a moment of both relief and disappointment, though it didn’t last long because Dave was already moving to Klaus’s other side. 

Dave threw a knee over Klaus and for a brief moment he was practically straddling him, looking down at him with an expression of complete innocence. In fact, he flashed a polite smile at him while Klaus’s gaze tracked him like a hawk. Was he doing this on purpose? He had to be doing this on purpose. Surely Dave knew what he looked like, what this all was suggestive of. Or did Klaus just have an especially dirty mind? That was entirely possible, but he was pretty sure that he wasn’t imagining this. He was beginning to question his sanity. He’d never had to question someone’s intentions like this before! 

Dave had him so entirely flustered. He’d never felt so completely out of control like this. That’s not to say Klaus had never been the more submissive party, he had of course, but it was always because he let the other person take the lead, not because he was so entirely flustered that the lead wasn’t ever his to begin with. He’d only ever given up the flirty, forward, position willingly, by choice. Never had someone so easily made Klaus melt into a puddle of goo like this. 

Dave put his hand on the back of Klaus’s knee and hoisted his leg again, lifting it straight and leaning his chest into it. Klaus jumped a little at the sudden stretch, mouth falling open in a quick little gasp. The motion caught Dave’s attention because suddenly his eyes were much more focused, and they weren’t meeting Klaus’s gaze. Was he really looking at Klaus’s mouth right now? Oh God, this was real. This had to be real! 

Klaus decided to try to recover some of his power, once again putting an arm on Dave’s arm to steady himself, though this time, he brushed his thumb softly against the sensitive skin on the inside of his bicep. He kept his gaze fixed on Dave as he took a small breath and adjusted to the stretch before pulling softly on Dave’s arm, holding his gaze as he breathed, “More.” 

Dave’s breath stuttered and Klaus was convinced he could feel Dave’s heartbeat against his calf, quicker now. Dave obeyed, keeping his eyes on Klaus’s face, placing a strong, gentle hand above Klaus’s knee to steady him as he leaned in closer. Klaus had never been so grateful for keeping up his yoga practice as he was right now. He moved his hand to fist in the front of Dave’s shirt, pulling him closer with a groan at the tight stretch of his hamstrings. 

“Fuck,” He breathed, “You’re good at this.” 

Dave’s breath once again left him in a shudder, face and neck burning red, but he didn’t pull back. 

“Would you—would you maybe want to grab coffee with me after this?” Dave asked, the words leaving him in a rush, like he was blurting out a thought he hadn’t fully thought through. 

A grin spread over Klaus’s face and he held Dave where he was with a hand still fisted in his shirt, afraid he’d chicken out and sit back.   
“Davey, are you asking me on a date?” He purred, looking up at him from a halo of wild curls, eyes bright.  
Dave laughed and Klaus was quickly becoming convinced that it was the most beautiful sound in the world.  
“Y’know, I think I am,” Dave replied softly, thumb stroking the skin above Klaus’s knee tenderly. 

God, Dave was so damn good. He was sweet and gentle with Klaus in a way that nobody else ever was. He was dorky and somehow still so smooth and he made Klaus’s heart beat like a teenager under the influence of their first ever crush. It was ridiculous and unrealistic and insane and Klaus was entirely intoxicated by it.   
He opened his fist and slid his palm up Dave’s chest to rest on the side of his neck, face still split in a wide grin. 

“I’d love to go on a date with you, Davey. Now put my leg down so I can kiss you.” He instructed. 

Dave’s face went dumbstruck and he did as he was asked, sitting back to let Klaus’s leg down, but Klaus followed him, sitting up and ruffling Dave’s hair as he stood, offering his hands to help Dave up too. Dave looked confused, taking Klaus’s hands and rising with him.   
“Where are we going?” Dave asked.   
“To the locker room. I’m not going to make you be seen kissing the weird degenerate in front of all of your gym friends.” Klaus answered like it was obvious. 

Dave’s expression darkened a little, eyebrows pinching together. Klaus wasn’t sure what it meant. It wasn’t like Dave didn’t know he was a degenerate—everyone did. It was obvious and everywhere he went, there were rumors about him. It wasn’t even something he minded anymore, but he knew how people saw him and Dave was sweet. He wasn’t going to hurt his reputation too. He turned away from the intense expression on Dave’s face, moving to head to the locker room, but Dave caught his hand and stopped him. He stumbled a little as he was pulled back in, turning to face Dave again just in time to land against his chest with a small sound. 

Before he could even process what was happening, Dave was sliding strong hands against both sides of Klaus’s neck and nudging his nose against his softly, silently asking permission as he met Klaus’s gaze. The move was so forward, so bold in a room full of people watching that it sent electricity racing all the way to his toes. His heart raced in his chest as his hands came up automatically, wrapping around Dave’s wrists.   
“I’m not ashamed of you,” Dave informed him tenderly, thumbs brushing over his jawline.   
Klaus didn’t have any time to react to that because then Dave was kissing him, pressing soft lips against Klaus’s and it took all of his strength not to just melt into his arms. 

He heard some whooping and hollering around them and they broke apart, grinning at each other and laughing before Dave glanced over to where the commotion was coming from. He stooped to pick up his towel and throw it over at them which just made them laugh. Dave didn’t seem bothered though, he was still smiling that bright, beautiful smile as he drew Klaus into another kiss.   
“Come on. Locker room.” Klaus murmured against his lips, letting his hand slip down the length of Dave’s arm to find his hand before breaking the kiss and tugging Dave along with him as he headed toward the showers.


	4. Getting Clean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smut ensues.

Both of them were laughing breathlessly when they got to the (thankfully empty) locker room. Dave pulled Klaus back around and wrapped his arms around his waist and Klaus wasted no time in getting his arms around Dave’s neck, slotting their lips together once again with a sigh of relief. They kissed slowly, as if savoring the feeling but it didn’t take long before Klaus was tugging on Dave’s shirt, adding more urgency to their kiss. Thankfully, Dave seemed fully on board because he pulled back just long enough to pull it over his head and drop it on the bench beside them, tugging up on Klaus’s shirt. 

“Come on, undress and meet me in the shower,” Klaus said, hands already dropping to take off shorts, stooping to remove his socks and then his briefs, completely unashamed of his body.

Dave’s hands were still resting on the waistband of his own shorts, eyes trailing over Klaus’s body with a look of awe on his face that had Klaus blushing as pink as Dave already was. Klaus shot him a wink and walked away, feeling Dave’s eyes on him as he headed to the furthest shower, stepping in and turning it on to wait for Dave. Every second that passed had Klaus growing more anxious, hoping he hadn’t been too presumptuous, hoping he hadn’t scared Dave off, but before he could freak out too much, the curtain was moving aside and Dave was stepping in. Klaus squinted from under the spray of hot water, smiling as he let his eyes wander Dave’s body, taking in his broad shoulders and the trim cut of his waist, the splatter of marred skin at the center of his chest, the sharp jut of hipbones and the way they drew Klaus’s eyes further down. He bit his lip as he took in the size and shape of him, letting his hands reach out to rest on Dave’s hips. He traced his thumbs along the V of his hips like he’d wanted to for days now and pulled Dave further under the water with him as he drew his gaze back up. 

“You’re beautiful,” Dave said softly, catching Klaus’s cheek in his hand. 

Klaus was glad he was already pink from the hot water so the blush that rose in his face wouldn’t be so obvious. He’d been told he was beautiful before, but this felt different. It’d always been a precursor to something, and while this was a precursor to something as well, it hadn’t been said as a way to secure himself a spot in Klaus’s metaphorical pants. It’d been said just for the sake of being said. It’d felt genuine and tender and it made Klaus’s heart skip a beat. 

“So are you,” He said honestly, meeting Dave’s impossibly blue eyes, admiring the way they almost seemed to glow in the ambient, filtered light coming from overhead. 

Dave’s lips ticked up and he drew Klaus in again, kissing him slowly and deeply, letting his tongue brush against Klaus’s lip. Heat swooped in Klaus’s stomach as he parted his mouth for him, inviting him in. Dave accepted the invitation and pressed in deeper, sweeping his tongue teasingly against Klaus’s as he crowded in closer until Klaus’s back was against the wall. Klaus groaned, doing his best to keep it quiet, but the tight heat coiling in his stomach made it difficult to care about not getting caught. 

Dave pressed in until their bodies were together from shoulder to knee and Klaus’s responded with a roll of his body, hips grinding up against Dave’s. They both broke the kiss and shuddered and Dave dropped his head to Klaus’s neck, pressing kisses up the column of Klaus’s throat, hands gripping his hips tightly. Klaus couldn’t suppress the groan that escaped him, feeling like all of the tension that’d been slowly coiling around them from the moment they met was tightening, drawing them closer, raising the rhythm of their hearts, the pace of their breathing. 

Klaus curled his leg around Dave’s, drawing his knee up against Dave’s thigh and Dave’s hand caressed down Klaus’s hip and leg to hook beneath his knee and draw it up higher. The motion slotted their hips together more perfectly and Dave shuddered against Klaus, letting a soft moan escape his lips. The sound had Klaus’s heart racing. Dave’s hoisted Klaus’s leg all the way up to his hip, holding him with such strength that Klaus didn’t even have to jump to wrap his legs around him, he was able to just easily lift his other leg off the ground and Dave caught it automatically, holding Klaus up against the shower wall. 

By now they were panting as Klaus drew Dave back into a kiss, whining softly as Dave rolled his hips. The slick slide of them against each other, eased by the water had Klaus’s legs quivering. He reached over Dave’s shoulder and managed to get a little soap from the dispenser on the wall and kissed Dave’s neck as he got a hand between them, wrapping a soap-slicked fist around them both. 

The sound Dave made was nearly pornographic and Klaus grinned against his throat, nipping the skin softly. They stayed like this for awhile, slowly rutting against each other with Klaus’s tight fist providing the friction they needed, trading kisses against each other’s necks as the pressure built and built. Eventually, it was too much for Klaus to stand and he tightened his legs around Dave’s waist. 

“More, Dave. Please,” Klaus begged softly, letting his head fall back against the shower wall with his lip pressed between his teeth. 

“Fuck,” Dave breathed softly, and God did the curse sound heavenly coming from his lips. 

Dave moved a little quicker and Klaus helped by stroking his hand up and down countering Dave’s motions. Everything built much quicker, rising to a peak faster than Klaus was expecting. His eyes flew open and he tightened his legs even more around Dave’s waist.  
“Dave! Dave, fuck, Dave,” Klaus murmured, bringing his free hand to the back of Dave’s neck to draw him back into a deep kiss. 

He let himself go and apparently the kiss was exactly what Dave needed too because he could feel Dave pulsing against him at the same moment. It was ridiculous, people didn’t actually come at the same time, he’d been convinced it was a myth unless you took the time to carefully plan it out and force it to happen, but it was difficult to time right. With Dave, it’d just happened that way and Klaus did his best not to see it as some sort of sign. He was sentimental after he came, so what? 

Dave rested his forehead against Klaus’s shoulder and gently lowered his legs down, helping Klaus get his balance by wrapping his arms around his waist. 

“Holy shit, Dave, that was...” Klaus breathed, not even sure what words to use, his brain was too hazy to find the right ones. 

“Hot,” Dave agreed, lifting his head to look at Klaus with hooded eyes and a dazed expression. 

He smiled then, that pretty, bright smile and kissed Klaus’s forehead sweetly and it made Klaus’s heart stutter in his chest. He wrapped his arms around Dave’s neck and hugged him tightly, feeling a welling of something in his chest, but he wasn’t sure what. He just felt full and satisfied and happy and all of it was welling up in his chest and making it hard to breathe and all he could do was cling onto Dave. 

Dave held him tight, stroking a hand up and down his spine wordlessly, content to just hold Klaus under the hot water. Eventually, Klaus lifted his head and kissed Dave softly. 

“Coffee?” He asked. 

Dave laughed and pressed his forehead against Klaus’s, reaching to turn off the water. 

“Yeah. Coffee.”


End file.
